Mardi Gras Design in the Round

Each spring as Mardi Gras season rolls on, and the ultimate party day (Fat Tuesday) gets nearer I start thinking about new ideas for greeting cards and paper crafts.

 This year I've made a new digital design that incorporates  traditional symbols  of the biggest bash held every year in New Orleans' French quarter.

This new mandala line art design  features jester's pattern jewel diamonds, king crowns, word art and  traditional fleur de lis motifs with one smack in the center.

Put on some music and relax while adding color to this Mardi Gras mandala design. Although the choice of  hues is up to you, keep in mind the traditional colors of the season: purple, green, gold.

Let the good times roll!

Let's Paint a Lighthouse Scene

If you love art and enjoy coloring, you may want to try to create a painting or pencil drawing of your very own.  When I was learning about art, the hardest thing for me to do was to draw the initial sketch for a painting.

Well I've been making art for more than 50 years now, and I'm pretty comfortable with sketching from photographs. I'm  adding a new section on my web sites in the printable art and coloring pages for adults: art sketches, ready to print and paint or color in.

Here's a recent art sketch I drew for ClipArtandCrafts.com. It's a sketch  drawing of a lighthouse and beach walk. I got the idea from a photograph I took several  years ago when I visited the beaches on Long Island.

Print out the art sketch and use the reference photo from the same page to make your own lighthouse painting or colored pencil drawing. It's more than a coloring page, it's a paint by number picture where you make up the numbers for each coloring in section, so you can make your art in any style: realistic, impressionistic or any other method you like.

Try working the picture art in several ways - perhaps in monotone, then as a summer scene or with a dramatic sunrise/sunset behind the lighthouse.

Printable lighthouse art sketch is free for noncommercial use; print it at ClipArtandCrafts.com.

All You Need is Love - and some markers

Love Coloring Poster, printable

The Beatles had it right: all you need is love to make it through life. Here's a new calligraphy design poster with LOVE at the forefront.

All you need is a printer, this adult coloring page, and some markers or colored pencils to make a sweet statement or shower decoration.

Love Coloring Poster is a free printable for personal use; you can pin it or share on Facebook or Twitter using a link and small image like the one above.

Secret Message Graffiti Poster

Mashup lettering  design spells LOVE in Chinese

With hints of geometric design or street art, this abstract lettering pattern is made up of the Chinese characters for the word LOVE.

Characters arranged in multiple layers, flipped over words and varied sizes of the same text combine to create a line art graphic that's both challenging to color and intriguing to decipher.

Create a secret message poster from this original calligraphy design by Lee Hansen Hoch.

Printable PDF  Chinese lettering design poster - LOVE, available for download (free for any noncommercial use).

Crows Design Sheet - Who's Counting?

Flock of Birds Design Sheet

I live surrounded by farms, woodlands and birds. I mean LOTS of birds, including several families of large black crows and ravens who nest in the tall pine trees near my house. They make quite a racket when they're trying to fledge their young. I often see them gathered in big flocks like this picture, walking about in the fields with their friends and family just after corn planting time. They congregate again after the hay mowing and corn harvesting are done, and if there happens to be any interesting roadkill around.

I was thinking about  Counting Crows music and then  the Alfred Hitchchock film The Birds as I created this coloring page ... have no fear, the gang of feathered friends in this  flock of birds design can be any type of bird you like.

Geometric Abstract Design for Colorists

Fleur de Lis Abstract Design Coloring Page

The latest category of  adult coloring pages at ClipArtandCrafts.com is a collection of original abstract designs on printable sheets.

This new fleur de lis inspired black and white pattern for coloring will provide plenty of challenging creative relaxation for teens, adults (including seniors)  or inspiration for fiber crafts and art projects.

Printable for any noncommercial use; feel free to share thumbnails and links to the download page on your favorite social sites.